| "The sky is the ultimate art gallery just above us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 82) |
Astrophotography by Jason Jennings |
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| Nebulae :: NGC6357 and NGC6334 | |
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| Resolutions Available: 800x600 : 1600x1200 : 2400x1800 | |
| Object | NGC6357 and NGC6334 |
| Comment |
Within the constellation Scorpius, two magnificent nebulae wander along the galactic plane of the Milky Way galaxy. Four magnitude seven stars perfectly align, pointing to the center of the faint emission nebula NGC6357 (right in frame). The nebula forms the shape of a crab or lobster and is approximately 5500 light-years distant. A feline footprint marks NGC6334 (left in frame). It's commonly known as the Cat's Paw nebula. Both NGC6357 and NGC6334 nebulae are close to the galactic plane and as such are obscured by galactic dust which makes them difficult to observe visually. The galactic dust decreases the blue and green wavelength emissions (colour extinction). This is evident by the stars within the nebulosity shown above, there are no obvious signs of bright blue stars commonly found in star forming regions. The galactic dust particles are selectively removing blue light, a phenomenon known as "interstellar reddening". The dust particles have very little effect on red light wavelengths hence the nebulae glows vibrantly in the hydrogen alpha emission line. Additional luminance data (Ha) from the Takahashi TOA-150 was added to the image providing greater detail and depth on each target. This image is a LLRGB (Ha Hybrid) composite. |
| Optics |
Takahashi FSQ-106ED F/5 (530mm FL) Takahashi TOA-150 F/7 (1050mm FL) |
| Camera | SBIG STL-11000M - 1x1 bin (image scale: 3.5 / 1.77 arcsec/pix respectively) |
| Mount | Losmandy Titan |
| Exposure | Total exposure time: 6.2 hours (Ha:120min,L:105min,R:50min,G:50min,B:50min) |
| Date |
20/7/2007 25/4/2008 - Ha data |